Chickens finally started laying while I was out of town.

Well for a few weeks every time my husband walked by the pasture he would say under his breath "defective"...teasingly referring to "my" chickens. I have 5 Silver Phoenix, 4 (now, sniff) White Cochin, and One Mottled Java that are over 24 weeks and just started laying at 23 1/2 weeks old. I was in Boston when the first 5 eggs were found. Right now only The Silver Phoenix Bantams are laying. (3 hens 2 roosters)

I also have a trio of Delawares that are almost 12 weeks now. So I guess according to my husband the Cochin and the Java are still defective.

The eggs are very lightly tinted, from 1 to 1.5 oz...so peewee sized. I have heard that free range chickens tend to lay later than those who are exclusively on ration. So I guess that is the problem. Right now out of 6 Hens over 24 weeks we have 3 laying 1- 5 eggs a day. We'll go from 1 egg one day, to 1-2 in the morning and 2 or 3 more at night the next day...then none the following day etc. No real pattern set but they haven't been laying for a week and have been laying all over the "living" area of the pasture.

We finally started picking up hens and shoving them into the nest boxes and standing there covering the openings with our backs until they settled in and started nesting. The next morning, the eggs were in the nest box.

Otherwise, they were on the floor of the coop, in the half built goat barn, in the blue shipping container we have for hay and other storage that is open for the goats while the barn is being built (a container like you see on an ocean liner or train?)

All in all, in just under a week I have about 12 or 13 eggs. Now to make a scramble!

My girls occasionally get this wild idea to go find a better place to lay....how rude!...so then I have to play find the eggs in the barn....I swear they laugh when I look in those empty boxes and then start looking in every container for 50 yards....crazy things!